John 6:25-35
John 6:35-59
John 6:59-71
Grace
To discern and share what I’ve been learning and needing from God with the broader Body of Christ.
Devotion 1
Read: John 6:25 – 35
As we read, we find a people who are misunderstanding what Jesus is saying. Firstly, they ask Jesus in verse 28 about what work they must do for God, implying that they thought in terms of working to earn merit,1 but Jesus does not give a list of works to do, instead he replies in verse 29 that ‘The work of God is …to believe in the One He has sent.’ How free and simple, yet profound is God’s gift of Christ. The incarnation of the Son, the bread of Heaven is the one we are to have faith in. It is God’s accomplishments that we are to dwell upon and not our own works.
The people look to the past reflecting upon the manna and associate Moses as the giver, forgetting that God the Father is the true giver and source that supplied the bread from heaven. The physical manna supplied from heaven in the past is now being fulfilled spiritually in front of their eyes and stands before them. Jesus declares in verse 35 ‘I am the bread of life’. How blind we can be to recognise and see Christ right in front of us. The frailty of our humanity throughout generations has fallen into this trap, where human beings have been held higher than they should, and where God has been left out of the picture.
Who are some of the people of faith that you or others have esteemed more than you/they possibly should have. Why do you think this happened?
We also need to be careful of our own egos and weakness. What things do we need to be mindful of and what can we do to mitigate this. Is there something you need to do this week to protect yourself in this area? Do you have others around you to keep you accountable? When did you last meet?
Pray
1. Carson, The New Bible Commentary, 21st Century Edition, 1994;1038
Devotion 2
Take a minute of silence and in your mind’s eye, picture Jesus.
Share with each other your picture.
Read:
Read only John 6:59, this provides the back drop to this devotion’s reading.
Synagogue = Israelite audience (religiously clued up if they hanging out at the synagogue)
Israelites = knew their history and the OT (it was their lens to life and their hope)
Now read John 6:35-59, BUT picture the images that Jesus would have ‘echoed’/ ‘pinged’ for these OT soaked Jewish audience.
Share: What pictures/ images came to mind? Share with your group
The biggest picture and referencing point/ story of Hope, for the people of Israel is the story of Moses and the great Exodus.
In our passage Jesus takes that same, oh so familiar story of hope and…throws it out the window?…NO…in fact, he transforms it! He supersedes it! He redefines, He fills, He fulfils, He re-writes it etc!
Recall to the group a neighbour’s dream/ hope, if possible word for word, feeling for feeling – raw and un-interpreted by us.
Listen and watch the lyrics of this song – It’s Tupac (he was a black African American rapper in the 80s-90s) rapping about his rags to riches story, his depression struggles and his HOPE – DISCLAIMER! There is a little bit of language, but hear beyond the surface of the song, hear the trapped emotion/ heart of the song, the heart-beat of the under-dog that communities of poverty are so familiar with.
Jesus discards no dreams and hopes, he merely refines, redirects and transforms them into His Kingdom.
Pray: Pray for your neighbour’s dream/hope that you have mentioned.
Share: Communion
Devotion 3
Wait:
Reflect on the times you have heard hard teachings or the ‘costs’ you have made to follow Jesus.
Read: John 6:59-72
Discuss:
What questions would you like to ask the author or people within the story?
Share some hard teachings you have heard or ‘costs’ you have made to follow Jesus.
When you took onboard the hard teachings or the ‘costs’ to follow Jesus, what were the signs of life or fruit you began to see in your life?
Share:
Take communion and remember the cost for us and others to receive the gift of eternal life.
Pray:
Pray for each other’s challenges they face currently following Jesus.
Pray for your neighbours and the ‘big life’ decisions they may currently be facing.
Devotion 4
- Reflecting over this last week of John 6: 25 – 71 feel free to share anything that has stood out to you and spoken to you.
- Sharing stories of God’s goodness and His Spirit working in our lives and those around us is incredibly encouraging. Share of a time when you, a friend or a neighbour made a hard cost decision to follow God’s way and how that worked out for good.